LemongrassMichelle
Member
Hello! I would love some input about bonding this pair... this is long, but I wanted to make sure y'all have all the info.
Cocoa (in front) was adopted from a shelter in April of last year (2022). She was my only bun at the time, and she seemed lonely - practically begging my cat for grooming and he was oblivious. So we adopted Jasper (in back) at the end of January this year. Their first meeting/speed date went well... they ignored each other completely with the exception of a thump or two from Jasper. So we brought him home, put them in enclosures next to each other within a neutral space, switched them back and forth every day, and after about 1.5 weeks started the bunny dates. {NOTE: both bunnies are fixed}
Bunny dates went well at first. We started in the shower, and they would occasionally nip a little at each other, but mostly they either ignored each other or Jasper would groom Cocoa. He groomed her a lot, actually. I was so hopeful...
Then we moved to the hallway (also neutral)... still going well...
Then I let them explore the bunny room. And this is where it went downhill. For the most part they did great, but after about 10 minutes when they were going back and forth in the two enclosures, Cocoa went inside one of the hidey houses and Jasper came over - no aggression on his part, he just seemed curious. Then Cocoa flew out of the house at Jasper aka the Killer Rabbit in Monte Python & the Holy Grail. My first bunny tornado. No one was hurt and I was able to break them up, but not as soon as I would have liked. And now I know that I needed to remove anything that they (she) would be territorial about. Hindsight, right?
They took a break after that... I let them have their own spaces for a few days - switching the toys back and forth. Then another few days of switching the rabbits daily. Then we tried the hallway. They have both been aggravated with the other one on alternating days it seems. Jasper started biting Cocoa in the face when she approaches him with her head down. (I'm able to mitigate the aggression and he has not hurt her, thankfully.) Cocoa will lunge at Jasper and nip at his rear if he hops by her without paying her any attention OR if he approaches with his head down. Every bunny date is basically me trying to predict when the altercation is going to happen and who's going to start it. On occasion I miss the prediction and sometimes they just stop, back up, and move on. Sometimes there is retaliation. No more bunny tornados but I think had I let one or two scuffles go there might have been.
THINGS I'VE TRIED:
I'm working with a gal that has bonded hundreds of rabbits. She's perplexed by these two. (Jasper has a history - which I'll explain below if anyone is reading that far.) The following was recommended by her:
- I have placed and held the two bunnies close together, patting them so that they stay calm and start to go into that grooming trance. We do this at the beginning and end of each date, and until yesterday, after every scuffle.
- For a while when they would approach each other I would just hold my hands about an inch over their heads, gently putting a finger on their heads/necks when they got closer. This was working for a while... they would get closer and closer and I would just touch them gently and tell them they were good bunnies. After about 3 days this wore off and the hand hovering failed to stop any aggressive behavior.
- At the end of each date, after "forced closeness", they get a treat.
- I tried a new, neutral space yesterday... Jasper has no problem on wood floors, so he had access to the entire room. Cocoa hates wood floors, so she stayed entirely on the rugs I placed out. She got a bit territorial about the rugs... when he would hop past she would chase him and bite at his rear end. Sometimes he ignored her, sometimes he spun around and lunged. On two occasions they approached each other face-to-face. Both ended in one or the other lunging/biting at the other. Again, no injuries.
POSITIVE SIGNS:
* The picture above shows where they spend 90% of their time when they're not eating or playing... as near to each other as they can get... flopped or sprawled & relaxed.
* When they're on their bunny dates, when they're not being butt-heads, they will often mimic each other in grooming, playing or hopping down the hallway.
* Often when we're doing "forced closeness" one, or both, will tap their teeth (not grinding, definitely the happy tapping)
My bunny expert friend has worked with us and still recommends a very hands-on approach with them. She says they are definitely bondable, and maybe next steps would be stress bonding... I'm not sure I want to go there yet. It's been 7 weeks since Jasper came home, 4 weeks since the bunny tornado. I know bonding can take months, so maybe I just need to keep doing what I'm doing. I just hate that they're cooped up in their enclosures. Cocoa had free roam of our finished, walk-out basement before Jasper moved in, and the intention is that they'll move down there when they're bonded. If anyone has experience with a similar bonding situation, or anything new I might try, I would be very grateful. I know 7 weeks isn't that long, when it comes to bonding. So if I just need to be patient and keep doing what I'm doing, I'm okay with that. I just don't want to do something that sends us backwards. And, of course, the sooner they could get along the sooner they could have so much more space!
{I'll include Jasper's history in a comment below, in case that might be helpful...}
Cocoa (in front) was adopted from a shelter in April of last year (2022). She was my only bun at the time, and she seemed lonely - practically begging my cat for grooming and he was oblivious. So we adopted Jasper (in back) at the end of January this year. Their first meeting/speed date went well... they ignored each other completely with the exception of a thump or two from Jasper. So we brought him home, put them in enclosures next to each other within a neutral space, switched them back and forth every day, and after about 1.5 weeks started the bunny dates. {NOTE: both bunnies are fixed}
Bunny dates went well at first. We started in the shower, and they would occasionally nip a little at each other, but mostly they either ignored each other or Jasper would groom Cocoa. He groomed her a lot, actually. I was so hopeful...
Then we moved to the hallway (also neutral)... still going well...
Then I let them explore the bunny room. And this is where it went downhill. For the most part they did great, but after about 10 minutes when they were going back and forth in the two enclosures, Cocoa went inside one of the hidey houses and Jasper came over - no aggression on his part, he just seemed curious. Then Cocoa flew out of the house at Jasper aka the Killer Rabbit in Monte Python & the Holy Grail. My first bunny tornado. No one was hurt and I was able to break them up, but not as soon as I would have liked. And now I know that I needed to remove anything that they (she) would be territorial about. Hindsight, right?
They took a break after that... I let them have their own spaces for a few days - switching the toys back and forth. Then another few days of switching the rabbits daily. Then we tried the hallway. They have both been aggravated with the other one on alternating days it seems. Jasper started biting Cocoa in the face when she approaches him with her head down. (I'm able to mitigate the aggression and he has not hurt her, thankfully.) Cocoa will lunge at Jasper and nip at his rear if he hops by her without paying her any attention OR if he approaches with his head down. Every bunny date is basically me trying to predict when the altercation is going to happen and who's going to start it. On occasion I miss the prediction and sometimes they just stop, back up, and move on. Sometimes there is retaliation. No more bunny tornados but I think had I let one or two scuffles go there might have been.
THINGS I'VE TRIED:
I'm working with a gal that has bonded hundreds of rabbits. She's perplexed by these two. (Jasper has a history - which I'll explain below if anyone is reading that far.) The following was recommended by her:
- I have placed and held the two bunnies close together, patting them so that they stay calm and start to go into that grooming trance. We do this at the beginning and end of each date, and until yesterday, after every scuffle.
- For a while when they would approach each other I would just hold my hands about an inch over their heads, gently putting a finger on their heads/necks when they got closer. This was working for a while... they would get closer and closer and I would just touch them gently and tell them they were good bunnies. After about 3 days this wore off and the hand hovering failed to stop any aggressive behavior.
- At the end of each date, after "forced closeness", they get a treat.
- I tried a new, neutral space yesterday... Jasper has no problem on wood floors, so he had access to the entire room. Cocoa hates wood floors, so she stayed entirely on the rugs I placed out. She got a bit territorial about the rugs... when he would hop past she would chase him and bite at his rear end. Sometimes he ignored her, sometimes he spun around and lunged. On two occasions they approached each other face-to-face. Both ended in one or the other lunging/biting at the other. Again, no injuries.
POSITIVE SIGNS:
* The picture above shows where they spend 90% of their time when they're not eating or playing... as near to each other as they can get... flopped or sprawled & relaxed.
* When they're on their bunny dates, when they're not being butt-heads, they will often mimic each other in grooming, playing or hopping down the hallway.
* Often when we're doing "forced closeness" one, or both, will tap their teeth (not grinding, definitely the happy tapping)
My bunny expert friend has worked with us and still recommends a very hands-on approach with them. She says they are definitely bondable, and maybe next steps would be stress bonding... I'm not sure I want to go there yet. It's been 7 weeks since Jasper came home, 4 weeks since the bunny tornado. I know bonding can take months, so maybe I just need to keep doing what I'm doing. I just hate that they're cooped up in their enclosures. Cocoa had free roam of our finished, walk-out basement before Jasper moved in, and the intention is that they'll move down there when they're bonded. If anyone has experience with a similar bonding situation, or anything new I might try, I would be very grateful. I know 7 weeks isn't that long, when it comes to bonding. So if I just need to be patient and keep doing what I'm doing, I'm okay with that. I just don't want to do something that sends us backwards. And, of course, the sooner they could get along the sooner they could have so much more space!
{I'll include Jasper's history in a comment below, in case that might be helpful...}
